The sagging or drooping of breasts is a well-observed phenomenon that can affect many women at some point in their lives. This phenomenon can insidiously take its toll on women's breasts regardless of socioeconomic background and ethnicity. Women endowed with substantially small breasts are generally spared from experiencing sagging.
One notable cause of sagging may be due to breast mass involution. That is, when the internal milk making structures in the breasts shrink (e.g., loose volume) because such structures are no longer being used. For example, this may occur after weaning, or after giving birth, if one chooses not to breastfeed the newborn, or may occur in menopausal women due to hormonal changes. It is noted, however, that breasts may start a gradual drooping even at a relatively early age since breasts do not comprise muscle tissue. Breasts comprise ligaments and subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat). When the force of gravity pulls the breasts down, and, since such ligaments and the outer skin gradually loose their elasticity, the breasts loose their firmness, and consequently the breasts begin to droop. Another common cause for sagging may be due to weight loss. When a woman looses weight, the volume of fat tissue in the breasts is reduced. Typically, the outer skin and the internal ligaments do not adjust accordingly, and this can lead to a sagging condition.
Regardless of the specific cause of the sagging condition, women often experience self-confidence issues regarding the appearance of their sagging breasts. Accordingly, women may increasingly subject themselves to invasive and costly surgical procedures (e.g., mastopexy) in order to avoid—at least for some limited period of time—the sagging condition and improve the physical appearance of their breasts. As with any surgery, mastopexy carries some inherent risks, such as the possibility of bleeding and infection. Moreover, mastopexy generally results in noticeable and permanent scars. Also, the procedure can result in unevenly positioned nipples, and/or permanent loss of feeling in the nipples and other sections of the breasts. It is also common practice to use prostheses or accessories of various kinds applied to the breasts with the intention of causing a lifting effect. Typically, these accessories may require support by corselets, straps, shoulder straps or the like, and often an outside observer may easily detect their presence. Thus, it should be apparent from the foregoing discussion that there is a need to overcome the various disadvantages concomitant with known accessories and techniques that have attempted to correct a sagging condition in a female human breast.